Ailing Wave fall on road

MADISON – Tupelo’s Lady Wave, missing four starters and starting six freshmen, dropped a 2-0 decision Friday to Madison Central in a clash of Class 6A high school soccer giants.

The homestanding Lady Jaguars (15-2-2), ranked No. 3 in the state, produced plenty of first-half firepower on this bitter cold evening. They fired 12 shots to Tupelo’s two and took a 1-0 halftime lead.

McKenzie Adams scored the goal in the second minute off a rebound shot by Sarah Daniels.

“We wanted to come out hard at home,” Madison Central coach Cecil Hinds said. “We wanted to come out of the blocks fast.”

The No. 3-ranked Golden Wave (9-2-2), which lost a 5-4 division match to Hernando earlier in the week, gave a strong showing against the state’s top-ranked team.

“I’m proud of the way we played; we played hard,” Tupelo coach Harris Faucette said. “We had a couple of things not go our way.”

Tupelo took a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute on header by Kevin Armstrong following a corner kick by Logan Little. The Golden Wave missed an opportunity in the 33rd minute when Forrest Timmons just missed scoring on a penalty kick.

“That save on the penalty kick saved the game for us,” Madison Central’s Hinds said.